1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to garment hangers, and in particular, to an apparatus for spacing garment hangers having suspension hooks on a garment-supporting rod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for spacing garment hangers are well known and a variety of designs have been developed for maintaining a predetermined spacing between garments suspended from garment-supporting rods and the like. One type of garment hanger supporting device is illustrated in the Sutton U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,999 and comprises a U-shaped bracket with legs extending downwardly therefrom for placing on a clothesline. The longer of the legs has a plurality of spaced apertures therethrough for receiving the hooks of clothes-hangers. However, such a device is primarily for use with a substantially straight clothesline and is not readily adjustable to different lengths. Also, no provision is made for subdividing the bracket into individual units to be placed between respective pairs of clothes-hangers. The Ivan U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,776 also shows a device for use with garment hangers having a plurality of spaced apertures for receiving the hooks of respective garment hangers. However, this device is also not readily adjustable to different lengths or separable into individual spacers or retainers. Further, the retainer disclosed in the Ivan patent is primarily for use with straight garment-supporting rods as opposed to circular rods.
A different type of apparatus for use with garment hangers, as exemplified in the Wheeler U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,358, comprises an attachment for the hook portion of an individual garment hanger. The garment hanger hooks are then placed over a garment-supporting rod in a conventional fashion with the attachments thereon. However, the individual attachments as shown therein are not interconnected for maintaining a predetermined spacing between adjacent garment hangers. Also, the garment hanger attachments according to the Wheeler patent are not designed to be fixedly attached to the garment-supporting rod and are thus subject to being lost or misplaced.
Prior art devices for use with garment hangers tended to be either adapted primarily for attachment to individual garment hangers and removable therewith, or of a predetermined length and adapted for attachment to straight garment-supporting rods.